Blue Ribbon Chili

Anyone who really knows me knows that I don't like chili that much. As a child that was one meal I didn't have to eat and could have a bowl of cereal instead. I also didn't have to eat sweet and sour meatballs. The smell of those two meals cooking would send me gagging and running to my room to get away from the smell. Blech!

Now that I am an adult I do like some chili recipes. I have only ever made one chili recipe because I was afraid I wouldn't like it. Well, I overcame my fear and tried a new chili recipe. This chili, to me, is very similar to what you would order in a diner. It is a hearty chili and a great to eat on a cold winter night. I still like MY chili recipe better but I would make this again. For you chili lovers out there, definitely give this recipe a try!

I found this on allrecipes.com and used a slow cooker instead of cooking it on the stove. I also made Beer Bread in my bread machine to serve with this chili. I'll get that recipe up soon. :)

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
4 tablespoons chili seasoning mix
1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans
1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans
(I only used one can of beans b/c that is what I had!)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Using a slotted spoon, add the beef/onion mixture to a slow cooker. Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well, and cook on low 5-6 hours or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with crispy bread and a salad. Frito scoops also go nicely with this chili if you want something with a little extra crunch. :) Enjoy!

Crockpot Pumpkin Chili

This is a great recipe for a cool Fall day.  Jordan is doing the South Beach diet right now so I have been trying to find recipes that will meet his dietary needs but also fit my need to have comfort food when it's cool outside!  I follow this blog Kayln's Kitchen and she only puts up recipes that will fit one of the three phases for South Beach.  This chili you can eat under any of the three phases.  I thought it was good and Jordan thought it was better than the chili I normally make!  Definitely a keeper and it's healthy for you too!

Here's the recipe with the changes I made.

Ingredients:
2-3 tsp olive oil
1 pound ground beef (10% or less fat for South Beach)
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 T minced garlic
1 T ground cumin
1 T chili powder (I used a heaping tablespoon)
1 tsp dried oregano
4 oz diced green chile peppers
2 cups beef broth
15 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed with water
1 can pumpkin puree
2 cans petite diced tomatoes, with juice
grated cheddar cheese & sour cream for serving

Directions:
Heat a small amount of oil in a large heavy frying pan, add ground beef, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and cook until the beef is well browned.  Add browned meat to the crockpot.

I had plenty of oil in my pan so I didn't need to add more - add a little more oil if you need it - add diced onion and green pepper and cook 2-3 minutes, until the onion and pepper are starting to soften.



Add minced garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano & green chilies and saute a couple minutes more. 















Put the onion mixture into the crockpot, then deglaze the pan with the beef broth and add that to the crockpot.

Drain the beans into a colander in the sink and rinse with cold water.  Add beans to the crockpot along with the canned pumpkin and diced tomatoes.















Stir the mixture to combine and then cook on high for 4-6 hours. 















Mine cooked on high for about 4 1/2 hours and was perfect.

Serve hot topped with grated cheese & sour cream.  I also served this with a salad and biscuits (for me only) Yum!!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I have several beef stew recipes. This particular recipe I tried for the first time this week and I found the recipe on allrecipes.com. I made the recipe as it was stated except I shredded the meat once it was cooked. I really liked this recipe because I didn't have to brown the meat first ~ tasted great without having to do that extra step!

Ingredients:
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions:
Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture.



Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

So, here is where the recipe and I differ. I saw this in the crockpot and it just did not look appetizing to me. I didn't want to have to eat my stew with a fork.



I took out as much meat as I could and placed it on my cutting board.



At this point the meat is so tender you barely have to pull at it with a fork for it to shred. Once the meat is shredded, put it back into the crockpot for another 20 minutes to warm back up.



At this point I tasted the stew and decided to add some seasoned salt.



Serve with toasted bread, garlic bread - some sort of bread is a must!

The best pork tenderloin you'll ever have....

I promise.



I've been making this pork tenderloin for several years. I found the recipe in a Cuisine at home magazine. I've made it so many times now I don't even need the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins (2 come in 1 package)
4 oz Boursin cheese
1 Tablespoon olive oil
6 oz prosciutto (I usually buy half a pound and snack on whatever is left)
Puff pastry
1 Egg & 1 Tablespoon water

Directions:
Prepare tenderloins by trimming of the silverskin and the thin tail at the end.



Butterfly them for stuffing, making a 1" deep incision down the length of each side. Stuff each tenderloin with half the Boursin.



Lay 4-5 prosciutto slices in a single layer, overlapping them slightly. Place stuffed tenderloin at the base of the prosciutto and roll to cover. Repeat with the second tenderloin.



Sear in oil in a large skillet over medium heat until prosciutto is brown and crispy on all sides, about 5 minutes. Chill thoroughly.



Unfold the pastry sheet and roll it out so it's large enough to wrap around the tenderloin. Transfer the pork to a parchment lined baking sheet.



Brush wellingtons with egg-water mixture and cover with plastic. Chill for one hour or up to 24.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush with more egg was for good browning. Bake tenderloins 30-35 minutes or until golden. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing. To serve trim off ends, then slice into 2" thick pieces.



We eat one of them and I wrap the other one in aluminim foil then place in a large freezer bag. These freeze wonderfully - just remove from freezer to thaw then bake about 15 minutes to warm it up.



Enjoy!

Stefanie's Chili

Well, actually it's not my chili. It's real name is Stratford's Sweet Chili from a Crockpot Cookbook. But it's the only chili recipe that I make! When I was little I HATED chili. Really, really hated it. The smell of it cooking would make me gag. That was one of the meals that I was allowed to eat something else for dinner if my parents were eating chili. I am still not the biggest fan of most chili but I really like this one. You must make garlic bread to eat with this - this is a must!!! I promise it won't be as good without it!

Ingredients:
1 can (19 oz) Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can (19 oz) Red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (28 oz) Chopped tomatoes with herbs and spices
1 can (10 oz) Corn kernels, drained
2 Carrots, peeled & diced
2 Large garlic cloves, minced
1 Red onion, finely chopped
1 cup Ketchup
¼ cup Liquid honey
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 green pepper diced
1 yellow pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese, grated

Directions:
In slow cooker, combine chickpeas, kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, carrots, garlic & red onion. In a bowl combine ketchup, honey, chili powder, and cayenne; mix well and pour into slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours, until hot and bubbling. Add green, yellow & red pepper and cook on high for an additional 20-25 minutes.



Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

My mom's zucchini bread

When I was growing up my mom always made zucchini bread. I didn't like zucchini (still don't!) but I always loved this bread. I made it myself for the first time a few weeks ago. It makes two loaves and freezes wonderfully. I just took the other loaf out of the freezer yesterday and I cannot tell it's been frozen. Saryn loves this bread too!

Ingredients:
2/3 c shortening
2 3/4 c sugar
4 eggs
3 c shredded zucchini (about 2 medium)
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cloves
2/3 c chopped nuts, optional (we leave these out)

Heat oven to 350. Grease bottoms only of loaf pans. Mix shortening and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs, zucchini and water. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans. Bake about 1 hour 10 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Check the bread at about 50-60 minutes and cook longer if needed. I like to eat it plain or sometimes put butter on it and warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave, yummy!!

Venison Italian Soup

For those of you who do not have venison or do not like it hamburger would work just fine with this recipe. When my parents came to visit last time they brought a bunch of venison meat with them and this is a great recipe to use ground venison if you have some and do not know what to do with it. This recipe freezes well too! You can add whatever vegetables you want to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground venison
1 onion, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (15 ounce) can green beans
1 carrot, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped (I omitted this)
1/2 (16 ounce) package seashell pasta


DIRECTIONS
Brown venison, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and spices. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes.



At this point, taste the sauce and see if it has enough seasonings for you. I felt it was a bit bland for our tastes so I added more basil, oregano, pepper, & some garlic salt.

Stir in beans, carrots, and whatever other vegetables you'd like to add. Simmer soup for 90 minutes.



The recipe calls for you to add pasta and cook it in the soup. I did that this time but next time I would recommend cooking the pasta separate and adding it to the soup when you are ready to serve.

See how the pasta looks like it's taking over the soup?



Top individual servings with grated cheese, and serve.

Chile Con Queso

Jordan and I went to a friends house on Saturday for an appetizer party. Everyone was supposed to pick a country in honor of the Olympics. Isn't that a neat idea? We picked Mexico and I'm posting the three recipes we brought. The pictures are not the greatest as I was hurrying through some of them. Sorry! Give the recipes a try though - they were all great and were well received by everyone at the party!

I saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman Cooks and thought it looked scrumptious!

Her photos are much better than mine so if you want to see nice photos go check hers out!

Ingredients:
Hot breakfast sausage
Jalapenos (I used 1, but the recipe could have had more heat)
1 onion, diced
Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 can chopped green chilies

Directions:

Place onion and sausage in a skillet. Stir together and until the sausage is fully cooked.



Push sausage to one side and drain the grease.



I used a slotted spoon and transferred the meat to a crock pot.



Place the cubed cheese, diced tomatoes & green chilies on top of the cooked sausage & onion mixture. You can just drain the sausage and continue to cook the queso in the pan on the stove. I was pressed for time and needed to use the crock pot.



Once the cheese has melted toss in your chopped jalapeno(s). Stir and serve warm with tortilla chips.

I was happy with the end results except my crock pot gets too hot and sort of burned the cheese. You can see from the photo below the color is a bit brown and it's not very "cheesy". It tasted fine but I think it would have been much better if I had not cooked it as long as I did.



See how Pioneer Woman's is very light in color and creamy?

I would recommend using the crockpot but the cheese really only needed to be in there for probably 2 hours before it was all melted. Mine was in there for much longer than that as I had to go to work and couldn't check on it. So keep that in mind if you try this recipe.

It still went over well at the party. I even had people requesting the recipe - so give this a try at your next party!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

First off, it's a crock pot/instant pot recipe. Yay!! :) I LOVE recipes that I can use my crock pot. This recipe freezes well. I recommend eating this the night you make it and using a freezer bag to freeze the rest so you can have a nice dinner on a night you don't have time to cook!

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped
1 can chili beans
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz beef broth
1 package of taco seasoning
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Shredded vegan cheese (optional)
Sour cream (we like Tofutti Brand)

Diced Avocado
Tortilla chips

Directions:
Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, taco seasoning and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover and cook for 5 hours.  Or if using instant pot, 20 minutes, then natural release until you are ready to eat.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and allow to cool long enough to handle. Shred chicken and place back into soup.  If using crock pot, cook for another 2 hours or until ready to serve.  If using instant pot, you can eat when you are ready.

Serve topped with cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado and tortilla chips.

Stuffed Shells

I made a few changes to this recipe that I'd like to share. I tried the cottage cheese instead of the ricotta and it's soooo much better! It has a very creamy texture - I will only us cottage cheese

I love stuffed shells. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made a few changes to spice it up a bit. I added spinach and hot sausage and also halved the recipe and it still fed us two nights in a row. I made 10 shells the first night and saved the rest of the cheese mixture & sauce for the next night. I used up the rest of the mixture and froze the shells we had left over.

Ingredients:

1/2 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells (I usually cook 12-14 shells)
2 cups cottage cheese
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 eggs, lightly beaten
pinch of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
half of small package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 package ground, hot Italian sausage

Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking. Drain.

While shells are cooking start cooking the sausage in a skillet until cooked all the way through. Remove as much grease as you can.



Mix together cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, and garlic powder. Rub the dried herbs in the palms of your hands to pulverize them, and stir into the cheese mixture. Spread 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a baking pan.



Stuff cheese mixture into the shells. Place shells open side up, and close together in pan.



Add the remaining sauce to the sausage mixture. Stir to combine & pour remaining sauce over top of the shells. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese & a handeful of mozzerella cheese for good measure. You can never have too much cheese. :)



Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.



Serve with garlic bread & salad. Enjoy!